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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Full Transcript Of Wendi Ward's Open Letter

Kevin Ward, Jr.

"First and most importantly, I want to say that no
matter what people think or say, our family does not need others to determine
what we feel or know about Kevin Ward Jr.

He is our blood, our friend, our champion. Always has
been and always will be. What I want people to understand are the questions.

Why was the toxicology report even an issue? Seems to me
the wrong man was on trial. Tell me why Tony Stewart was not taken in for
testing, why his car wasn't impounded. Tell me how a man the size of Kevin can
make a sprint car turn to the right on impact. Tell me how a lap before (the
incident) everything was fine, but the following lap was poor lighting. Tell me
how a NASCAR star totally forgot what caution means.

Maybe he should get a different headset so he is able to
hear on the radio that the car in caution is up high, so go low. Or was he low
until he rounded the corner and saw Kevin Jr. standing up for himself?

I guess we will never know why all of this was not taken
into consideration. Or will we never know why a fellow driver did not check on
this young man or his family? Or do we know why? I do, because I have seen the
video. It's there, and it's real.

I can't speak for others. These are my opinions and
concerns. I only hope some people take a minute to make sure they have done no
wrong before throwing stones.

Tony Stewart

This means nothing to me, but I want to say it is my
understanding that pot stays in a person's system days, weeks, possibly months.
Rumor has it that it may be legalized and prescribed for some patients, so then
will these people have their drivers' licenses taken away because it makes you
react – supposedly -- in a certain way?

To me, that's not the case. It's known to mellow a
person. We understand that the report showed marijuana, but we as a family
don't believe he was under the influence or impaired at the time due to the 10
hours prior to the race that he spent with the family.

What we do believe is that maybe people react to certain
situations because of anger. I've seen it in NASCAR, sports functions and even
on our own roads. And yes, these people have to pay for their actions. Well, I
guess it depends on who you are.

And to end this, I've heard time and time again, "We
just want Kevin's story out there." Here you go. Kevin Ward Jr. was an
amazing person. His life was wrapped around family, friends and racing, which
he started at age 4. Just a small-town boy having fun until the days turned
into years, and it then became his passion and life. The trophies, plaques and
pictures that fill his home, garage and workshop show his hard work and
dedication to racing – his love for the sport.

Through it all, he had the support of his family and
friends behind him. He opened his life to our community. As you would go by the
shop where he and his dad worked on the car for the upcoming race or after a
race, the doors would be wide open and there would always be people in and out
wishing him luck, sharing a story, offering a hand or simply just standing
there in their own way saying, "We're here for you, bud."

It took a lot of money to live his dream, and as a
family, they were able to do that. But not once did he ever think he was better
than anyone else because he could afford it. That was proven when somewhere
around 1,500 people came out to support and comfort us on our darkest days. It
shows how many hearts and lives he touched.

The orange, white and black that was worn in honor of our
champion sprint car driver was overwhelming, to say the least.

The tracks that have since honored Kevin Ward Jr. with
memorial events, his name in the ESS (Empire Super Sprints) Hall of Fame, the
many lives that have been changed forever – that's all because of one person's
love and respect for others. And that, to me, is what a person is made of. His
smile will forever be what gets us through.

23 comments:

At some point we all have face the fact that a grand jury comprised of citizens from Orange County - not from Nascar or from the local racing community - decided that no crime was committed by Tony Stewart. Having said that, I'm giving Aunt Wendi a pass on her perspective because I have no idea how I would feel if I were put in her shoes.

Your right and the letter above only cheapens the fallen driver even more. She asks the question why the toxicology report was important. She is blinded by rage and needs to blame someone other than Young Master Ward. I am truly sorry for their loss and I have prayed for all involved, but they need to move on and monetary pursuit isn't going make the problem go away.

I think that the Ward family is feeling alone, overlooked, and forgotten since most of the public support has been for Tony. Stewart fans never heard of Kevin Ward, but that certainly hasn't kept any of us from thinking and praying for Kevin and his family. A young man lost his life in a tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers have been for all involved.

Sadly, I feel as though the family is setting up for a money grab. (I'm pretty sure they have already admitted to this.) Since civil lawsuits only require 50% responsibility instead of beyond reasonable doubt they feel they convince a jury to offer them a fat paycheck at Tony's expense.

"Maybe he should get a different headset so he is able to hear on the radio that the car in caution is up high, so go low."

If the radio said that there is a guy running around the track in turn 2, all drivers should have shut their cars down. Since none did, I have to assume nobody was warned about what your son was doing in the low line while they scanned the high line for a wrecked CAR.

We've all seen drivers exit their cars and show their displeasure, but I've never seen one run into traffic to show his displeasure.

"Tell me why Tony Stewart was not taken in for testing, why his car wasn't impounded."

Tony was interviewed by a drug use professional who determined no testing was needed. I'm pretty sure the car WAS impounded by the police.

"Tell me how a man the size of Kevin can make a sprint car turn to the right on impact."

If you watched the video, it shows that Kevin becomes entangled in the right rear tire, causing the axel to shake violently and turning the car right and causing it to slide up the track.

"Tell me how a lap before (the incident) everything was fine, but the following lap was poor lighting."

The lighting on the track was fine for it's intended use.

"Tell me how a NASCAR star totally forgot what caution means."

In Sprint cars, they race back to the yellow, which is why you hear engines revving as they pass the camera on the front stretch.

"Why was the toxicology report even an issue?"

Because it may explain Kevin's irrational and dangerous behavior. Kevin made a SERIES of dangerous moves that sadly cost him his life.

1) Exiting the car so quickly while he knew cars would still be racing back to yellow, then slowing in turn 1 and 2. Why didn't he wait for everyone to get slowed, get their wings adjusted and get packed together?

2) Why does Kevin not realize that getting out of his car IN A TURN ON A SLICK TRACK would clearly put his life in grave danger?

3) Why does Kevin point at and run in front of the wrong car? Kevin did jump OUT OF THE PATH of that car, but it was real close.

4) Right after coming so close to being hit, Kevin runs FURTHER into turn 2, and again comes down into the running line. Why? Someone in your family called Kevin a "bit if a piss head". Does that mean he gets angry and ignores safety protocols?

5) When Kevin see's Tony's car SLIDING up the track toward him (clearly shown in the video), why does he hesitate before moving up the track and into the path of the sliding car? Someone with his track experience in races defined by sliding cars knows moving DOWN the track and OUT OF THE CARS PATH was the right move to make.

I understand the Ward family is upset, but there comes a time to leave the denial behind and accept that your son acted irrationally and made a series of dangerous moves that sadly cost him his life.

this tragedy should of never of occurred . most people with clear thinking , don't exit a car and run into a dark track to express their anger. it affected more lives than Kevin. Tony has to live the rest of his life with unasked for guilt, he did noot tell Kevin to run out in front of 2 cars in the dark. My thoughts & prayers are with all parties involved .

This is a sad thing and they more than likely will sue Tony. Personally I could never take blood money if my child was killed. Money will never change anything. There are better things to do for your son's memory ,like a memorial fund to help kids get help in starting a racing career . There are so many better things to do than anger and hate . I am just saying. may god bless everyone in this bad situation.

We need to stop listening to the Boo Hoo Stewart crowd and start looking at this objectively. Kevin Ward did nothing wrong (and I'm sick of the claim I keep reading that he stepped in front of Stewart's car when the video shows he was hit from the side) and Tony Stewart did everything wrong. There is no such thing as a person on foot being at fault for being struck by a vehicle, whether it's a racetrack or the street. Stewart is the one who had the responsibility to avoid striking someone on foot and he didn't live up to that responsibility.

People, put the onus on Stewart because that is where it belongs - nowhere else.

So if you step directly in the path of a car doing 50 mph that has ZERO time to react by either slowing or swerving and thus you are struck and killed, it is the driver's fault? If that is truly what you are saying, then that is a road of logic I never want to travel down.

Seriously, Monkeesfan? Watch the video. Kevin does EVERYTHING wrong. Yes, jumping to the right side of a car sliding up the track is indeed jumping into the path it's traveling. If Kevin had been clear headed, he would have taken 2 steps down the track and survived. Then again, he never would have been running around the driving line if he were thinking clearly.

Brandon in TN - Ward did not step in front of any car - he pointed to Stewart and Stewart fatally sideswiped him. Stewart had ample time to see him and avoid him and he DID NOT do it. Striking a pedestrian is ALWAYS the driver's fault. Always.

Anonymous - Kevin did not do anything wrong. He didn't jump anywhere, he was on the safe side of the track, he pointed to Stewart because Stewart had wrecked him, and Stewart sideswiped him. Ward was safe where he was until Stewart made no move to avoid him. He was thinking perfectly clearly - he got wrecked by Stewart and Stewart needed to be called out by it. Stewart then did not uphold HIS responsibility to avoid striking someone on foot.

The fact that we're still debating what happened -- more than a month after the fact -- is a pretty good indicator that we don't really know. The only people with ALL the available facts (the Grand Jury) declined to file any charges. Are we really smarter and more informed than them, based on something we watched on YouTube?

I don't have "my own facts" - I'm citing the actual facts. I don't buy that the grand jury declined to indict Stewart based exclusively on facts. I also have noticed that Stewart himself is not offering up any of the exculpatory arguments others have offered - on the contrary, his contriteness and the fact of the end of his sprint car racing are indicative of a sense of accountability on his part.

Use your head, for Pete's sake. Stewart cannot talk about the accident, because the Ward Family is very clearly planning to file a civil suit. And if the grand jury did not base its decision on facts, what DID they rule on? And don't give me the "Tony Stewart is a celebrity" line. Most of those jurors likely were not even race fans.

Lots of mysterious facts being referred to. Perhaps the Black Helicopter society has a rule against actually typing out some of these facts.

Here's a list of the facts accepted by most people.

1) Kevin Ward had enough THC in his body to get a nascar driver suspended from racing.2) A laps down Kevin failed to yield the turn exit to the race leader, causing him to spin.3) Kevin exited his car while the race was still underway, with cars racing back to yellow.4) Kevin exited his car in a slick turn.5) Kevin moved more than 10 feet down the track, into the running line for cars that have slowed while under caution.6) Kevin ran into the path of, and almost got hit by, a car that had nothing to do with his spin.7) Kevin ran in front of a sliding car.8) Kevin jumped into the path of that sliding car.9) An elected Sheriff investigated the accident for more than 3 weeks, then declined to bring charges against Tony Stewart.10) A grand jury listened to more than 20 witnesses and saw all the evidence gathered by the sheriffs department. They also declined to bring charges against Tony Stewart.11) Some people still say Tony is guilty, based on the evidence.

Dave I agree 100 percent with you, only 2 people really know what really happened that night and its sad that we lost one of them . No matter what side your on everyone loses ! A family has lost there son , Tony may never recover from this and other drivers in the field that night have not drove since. I would like to thank all the dirt drivers that have raced in upstate New York for doing what they love and making my weekend more enjoyable !!!!!!